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Monday, July 1, 2013

One cannot help but be amazed at the commitment and energy
of Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araujo, the authors of China’s Silent Army. In 2009, they began a two year investigation
into the overseas investments of Chinese companies which, given the nature of
much Chinese investment activity, took them to many difficult and even
dangerous environments in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. It is, therefore, a shame that the resulting
book, whilst interesting and thought provoking is marred by a near conspiracy
theorist view of China’s intentions.

The book is loosely organised into sections in which the
authors visit a country in which Chinese investment has been made and, after
recounting their discoveries, link the story to a broader analysis and
conclusion. We see the effects of jade
mining in Myanmar, an unlawful Chinese owned casino in Laos, a seller of cheap
clothing in Cairo, a massive shopping mall in Dubai selling only Chinese
products from Chinese-owned emporia, logging in Russia’s Far East and mining in
Zambia amongst others.

The stories are fascinating and speak volumes both to the
energy and drive of individual Chinese but also to the explosive and seemingly inexorable
growth of the Chinese economy since the days of Deng Xiaoping and the “socialism
with Chinese characteristics” theory.
Chinese investments also create local jobs, bring money into local
economies and enable the creation of infrastructure in desperately poor
countries without many of the strings and catches insisted upon by Western
investors.

Cardenal and Araujo acknowledge these benefits but point
out the dark side of Chinese investment.
Many of the jobs on big projects are given to imported Chinese labour
and local employees are often forced to work for very low pay in dirty and
dangerous conditions. One of the mines
described in China’s Silent Army was acquired
by a Chinese company from a Western company and the pay and conditions of the local
workers were subsequently reduced to an even lower level than those offered by
the previous owners.

Furthermore, Chinese companies often act with little or no
regard for the local environment or for the human and social costs of their
operations. The rate at which some of
the forestry operations described by Cardenal and Araujo are denuding the local
forests is breathtaking (and not in a good way) and the exploitation by China
of Myanmar’s jade resources without care for the long term economic health of the
local area is sickening. The inflow of
cheap Chinese made products that tends to accompany Chinese investment is also
problematic, strangling and stifling the relevant domestic market.

All these points are fair and well-made and there is a
significant risk that for many developing economies, inviting the Chinese dragon
in could lead to severe damage to everyone other than the ruling elite. It is apparent that much Chinese overseas investment
is driven by China’s desire to make as great a short term return as possible
without regard to the long term. Had
Cardenal and Araujo concentrated on these issues and toned down the language, China’s Silent Army would have been an
important addition to the literature on China’s recent development and a
wake-up call to the West.

Unfortunately, a strong whiff of paranoia and conspiracy
emanates from the book. It appears to be
Cardenal and Araujo’s contention that China is seeking some kind of economic
world domination and that Chinese companies and expatriates are engaged in an
unspoken conspiracy to “remake the world in Beijing’s image” to achieve
this. Although there is a level of state
coordination of many of China’s largest corporations, this is a fanciful and
slightly hysterical viewpoint. It is
true that Chinese state corporations in particular are trying hard to acquire
as many natural and agricultural resources as possible and aren’t fussy as to
how they do it but this is not so much a diabolical plan to subjugate the world
as the necessary consequence of a rapidly growing, resource-hungry economy and
the imperative to feed and satisfy a huge population so as to stave off social
unrest and threats to the Communist regime.

The future of China is not the binary one expounded in China’s Silent Army. The choice is not between Chinese world domination
and the imposition of a Chinese way or the evolution of China into a
Western-style economy. Either of these
might happen but so too may several other outcomes. The recent credit crunch in China and a
slowdown in growth rates are evidence enough of this.

Ultimately, China’s
Secret Army is a fascinating read.
It raises many serious issues that need to be tackled both by China and
its trading partners. Unfortunately, it
is marred by the prejudices of its authors and its overwrought assumptions of
Beijing’s aims. Nevertheless, it is well
worth a read. I’d like to thank Crown Publishing
for sending me a review copy of China’s
Silent Army.

About Me

Lawyer, husband, father, voracious reader. During a mild bout of mid-life angst, I found out that, based on life expectancy of a British male and my average reading speed, I have only 2,606 more books to read before I expire. So I'm going to count them down and write about them.
As part of this plan, I intend to read the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, using the 2008 edition as my base.